Classifier.



PATENTED APR. 2, 1907. (L'W. MERRILL.

GLASSIPIER. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVE'NTOR B /z1'.v flit/1271s I W THE upRRls PETERS co, wAsmngamu, n. c.

, PATENTED APR. 2, 1901 c.v w. MERRILL GLASSIFIER APPLICATION FILED NOV.25, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- INVENTORY By My Aim me 'v .10. if

60., wAsI-lmuran, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLASSIFIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2, 1907.

A h mi fil d November 25, 1904. Serial No. 234,306.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLEs W. MERRILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lead, county of Lawrence, State of South Dakota, haveinvented Improvements in Classifiers; and I hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for separating theheavier or coarser from the lighter or finer components found intailings of ores or in other valuable material, these separations beingtechnically known as concentrating, classifying, clarifying, 620.

These improvements consist in providing classifiers with lines ofoverflow made of soft material which may be easily kept level.

In the crushing of ores with water, to which wet crushing my inventionrelates, after the pulp, which is a mixture of the crushed ore withwater, has been subjected to such treatment as may be desired, such asamalgamation or concentration, &c., it is customary to separate it intocoarse and fine particles. This is effected by classifiers having ingeneral a discharge at the bottom for the coarser material, togetherwith a portion of the water, and an overflow-line over which the finerparticles and a portion. of the water overflow. Such classifiers aresimple gravity-classifiers or hydraulic classifiers, which differ fromthe simple gravity-classifiers in that they have a wash-water inlet atthe bottom. In the apparatus which have been employed for separating orclassifying said material conical, pyramidal, cylindrical, or othershaped hopers, tanks, or receivers, made of iron, porcelain, wood, &c.,have been employed, the overflow peripheries of which are diflicult tomake and keep level. For instance, cast and sheet iron cones have beenused with iron lines of overflow; similarly porcelain vessels withporcelain lines of overflow; also, wooden tanks havebeen used with theline of overflow consisting of end wood, such as the ends of staves,said line of overflow thus being across or transverse to the grain ofthe wood. With all of these materials it is difficult to make the lineof overflow as perfectly level as is neces sary to minimize unevencurrents orvelocities over the line of overflow. Such uneven currentsinterfere with the most efficient classification or separation. Inaddition to the above difliculty in first effecting an even line ofoverflow with such apparatus any uneven settling of the apparatusintroduces a further difficulty in maintaining the line of overflowsufficiently level to minimize uneven velocities thereover. Now I havediscovered that by making the overflow-line of the receiver of theclassifier either of a thin strip of wood with the grain approximatelyhorizontal, or of ametal or alloy softer than ironsuch, for example, aslead or pewter-the difliculties abovereferred to will be obviated.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingtwo sheets of drawings, forming apart of this specification, in whichFigure 1 is a plan view of classifier embodying my invention. .Fig. 2 isa vertical section of the classifier shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 to 6,inclusive, show vertical sections of the upper edge of a classifier themain body of which is made of wood with the grain approximatelyvertical. Fig. 7 shows a side view of this construction. Figs. 8 to 11,inclusive, show vertical sections of an upper portion of a classifierprovided with an overflow-line of soft metal attached in substantiallythe same manner as shown in Figs. 3

to 6. Fig. 12 is a side view of this construction. Figs. 13 and 14 are asection and projection, respectively, of an upper portion made of softmetal. Figs. 15 to 18, inclusive, represent the upper portion of aclassifier the main body of which is made of hard metal and which isprovided with the line of overflow made of wood with the grainapproximately horizontal; and Figs. 19 to 22, inclusive, the upperportion of a classifier the main body of which is made of hard metal andwhich is provided with an overflow-line of soft metal.

Similar letters refer to similar p arts throughout the several views.

In Figs. 1 and 2, it represents the inflowpipe n represents theoutflow-pipe, r representsthe edge of the overflow-line, and grepresents the spout through which the overflow passes out.

The classifier consists of a cone-shaped shell Z, resting in a conicalbox m, to which it is attached by the bolts 1 1, and from it emerges theoutlet-pipe n. The overflow is collected in an annular trough composedof a ring 0, bolted by the bolts 2 to the upper edge of the shell Z, asshown in Fig. 2, to which is bolted a cylindrical shell p by means ofthe bolts 3. The devices shown in Figs. 3 to 22, inclusive, may beattached to the shell by the bolts 4, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or inthe manner shown in Figs. 3 to 22, inclusive.

The overflow-line can readily be kept level by planing or bevelingdownthe edge of the part 7" from time to time, as may be necessary in allordinary cases, without removing the bolts 2 2.

Having heretofore on the 4th day of August, 1905, filed a divisionalapplication, Serial Number 272,720, relating to a classifier providedwith an overflow-line of soft metal, I hereby disclaim for the purposesof this case the subject-matter of the said applicat1on.

I claim as my invention- 1. A classifier provided with an overflow lineof soft substance substantially of the character specified extendingaround its entire periphery substantially as described.

2. A static classifier consisting of a receiver having a feed whollywithin the periphery and said periphery being provided with anoverflow-line of soft substance substantially of the character specifiedsubstantially as described.

3. A static classifier consisting of a receiver having a main body ofmetal and a feed wholly within the periphery and said periphery providedwith an overflow-line composed of a thin strip of wood with the grainapproximately horizontal.

4. A static classifier, consisting of a sheetiron body, a feed whollywithin the periphcry, and an overflow-rim composed of a thin strip ofWood with the grain approximately horizontal.

5. A static classifier, consisting of a receiver having a sheet-ironbody, a bottom discharge, and an overflow-line composed of a thin stripof wood with the grain approximately horizontal.

CHARLES V. MERRILL.

l/Vitnesses:

l/VM. FRAoKELToN, GEO. D. FOGLESONG.

